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Shop Like Me: How to Pick Healthier Cereal

If you're like me, you feel a little overwhelmed by all the choices on the cereal aisle. It's such an easy thing to have for breakfast, so I always like to have some handy, but narrowing down the choices to...

If you're like me, you feel a little overwhelmed by all the choices on the cereal aisle. It's such an easy thing to have for breakfast, so I always like to have some handy, but narrowing down the choices to find the cereal to put in the cart is sometimes anything but easy!...

First, it is important to remember that the front of the box is the billboard trying to sell you the product. Even the least healthy cereals will try to make you think they're healthy by what they claim on the front of the box. I have seen boxes that claim that the cereal can do everything from helping you lose a jean size in 2 weeks to lowering your cholesterol. These claims sound great, but the only way you can really know what is in the cereal is by ignoring the front of the box and flipping it over to its side and looking at the nutrition facts panel.

When you are looking at the Nutrition Facts panel on a box of cereal, first you want to look at the serving size. I like to find one that for a 1 cup serving size meets the following criteria: has 200 calories or less (without milk), has at least 5g of fiber, and has no more than 10g of sugar.

In addition to this rule of thumb, look below the Nutrition Facts and check out the Ingredient List. Ingredients are always listed in the order of the amount in the product. So the first ingredient is what the product has the most of. You want that first ingredient to be a whole grain, such as whole wheat flour, whole grain flour, whole grain rolled oats, bran, etc. You do not want the first ingredient listed to be enriched flour or enriched bleached flour (both fancy words for white flour), white rice, or sugar. If you use these 2 rules of thumb, you can quickly pick out a cereal that you will enjoy and feel confident that you have made a nutritious choice.

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Sarah-Jane Bedwell, R.D., L.D.N., is a registered dietitian in Nashville, TN. A national speaker and media personality, Sarah-Jane appears every month on the CBS affiliate, News Channel 5, doing upbeat food and nutrition-related segments on a live noon-time show. She has served as a nutrition consultant/spokesperson to various companies such as Whole Foods, Unilever, Dole, and Coca-Cola. Sarah-Jane enjoys cooking for others (especially for her husband and 2 dogs) and volunteering as a speaker for local senior citizen groups. Follow Sarah-Jane on twitter @sarahjaneRD or connect with Sarah-Jane on facebook.* Related Links: